The Stranger
by missawesomequeen
Summary: AU. Team 7 had been diminished due to unknown circumstances, now Sakura's life has changed completely, but her past is quickly catching up to her. Did Kaka-sensei forget to teach them to never run from the past? Mystery, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, and Friendship. SasuSaku centric, NaruHina, and NejiTen.
1. Chapter 1 - Nonsense

Flawless cotton-like blanket of softness rested onto the January stone ground. The crisp, white luminous beams projected onto raspberry coated strands, tightly pulled back into a fixed ponytail reaching a slim waist. Emerald eyes stared into the reflection of Haruno Sakura. Scanning for any visible blemish, the corners of her rouge lips curled up, though she was never one for much make-up in her teens, now being a 24 year old adult, she had altered her views drastically. Even going as far as to abandon her 'honourable' Haruno sign choosing the upper-class' attire of fabulous brands instead. Smiling at her current stunning white blouse, and elegant pencil skirt with a buckle of gold accompanying them, a simple 'perfect' sounded from the female. A creamy silk overcoat wrapped itself around Sakura's petite form; her plump lips pouted, as she applied gloss, her orbs of hypnosis darkened by her dark-black makeup, emphasised by her ghost-like skin. Unlike the popular belief of darker skin being the 'it' in America, Sakura chose to abandon the trend, accepting fully that she was known as the 'vampire of business'.

Following her usual morning routine, Sakura raced through her compact apartment, bidding it farewell with a slam of the green wooden front door, a piece of toast compactly shoved in between her plump lips, her leather gloves lingering onto the handle as she smacked the tinging keys into her purse cussing silently simultaneously. Quickly glancing at her silver watch, she paced through the thin corridor hurriedly, still buttoning up her long cream coat.

* * *

Her footsteps led her to the path which she knew like the back of her hand. The pebble ground beneath her feet made her take her shoes off and sprint, and simply let go. But she couldn't be doing that. She had a reputation to up-hold here. What would the public think if they say that a major corporate lawyer was seen dancing like a child in the crisp morning of October? Sakura ignored the pain of wearing heels whilst filled with such little energy, attempting to concentrate on the road she was walking on instead. 'Coffee, coffee, coffee', she screamed in her head, needing the steaming substance like an alcoholic needed their liquor. Sakura had quickly become addicted to the little perks of being in the modern world of America, that including coffee, international food such as pasta – what a weird name for a weird food. They would have never had it in Japan, she was sure.

Ding ding. The sound of the door opening was heard as Sakura entered; warmth radiated from the walls of the café, allowing the Haruno to unfold into the depths of what she'd like to call home. The small café was where the female had always reverted to whenever something had occurred, whether it had been something as simple as a stress-filled day, or her having a nightmare. The employees had known her for as long as she had been in America, leading to a strong bond being created between them.

"Fancy seeing you here, Sa-ku-ra!" A thick English accent boomed through a small eerie cafe, its bare contents barely standing, its crusted green walls illuminating the lonesome tables. Of course all that the male had received as a response was a shoddily forged smile; the guy had known her since she was but a child, he knew her like no other, and here she was thinking- supposing that she may deceive him like she does others? Heh. What fool she was undeniably. His scornfully sincere eyes plainly ogled the female, no words spilling from his slightly chapped pink lips.

To say that Haruno Sakura was in shock was an understatement. She had believed that he was in England, so what on Earth was he doing here?! Inner-Sakura screamed in aggravation, her fists juddering in rage, knowing that things would be changing soon. No. Everything would be the same. She would take her coffee and go. Her visible reaction to encounter was a smile, of course, she was here for business matters, and she would leave like that.

The air of the cold autumn rushed throughout the café undisturbed.

"As much as it is nice seeing you here, I would like my order please..." Sheepishly grinning, the male's bronzed burly arms entwined into his luminously dazzling hair; his old posture slipping into place. With his beautiful blue eyes compacted to slits, he rapidly muttered an apology, unintentionally permitting his old nickname to escape from his lips. Swiftly a deafening stillness beamed among the two of them, their orbs connecting in astonishment, as the world had stopped to a chord; it's music vanishing out gradually, patronizingly, almost as if it was torturing their internal mentality purposefully.

Clearing her throat loudly, she failingly attempted to destroy the silence that laid between them. "Sakura I'm sorry-." The male attempted to utter out, desperately grasping to what was left of their friendship, of what remained of their emotions. His eyebrows knitted together as he did all he could but hug Sakura once again.

Calmly holding her pale palm up to stop further conversation, Sakura's eyes finally connected to his. Emerald met oceanic blue once more. Her orbs pierced into his slowly, as if she was about to patronize himself once more for something he had done. "It's okay, Uzumaki." The female announced their distance by simply using his surname. She needed to get the message across that they were done. That nothing was left of them. He needed to let go of the past, just as she had done.

"So now I'm Uzumaki to you, Sakura?" Naruto's husky voice boomed into the silence. "Have you really given up on us?! ON ALL OF US?!" The male sprayed his hands onto her shoulders, gripping her body like a drowning man would to a raft. "Did you forget what Kaka-sensei had taught us?! Those who break the rules are trash, but those-"

"Naruto I don't have the time for this childish talk." The Haruno abrupt him swiftly, rolling her large eyes at his attitude, shoving the male slightly backwards as to leave some space between them.

"Childish talk, huh?" The male enquired, his head downcast, his bright strands shaking slightly, a bittersweet smile gracing his lips. "We're family, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, drawing himself closer to her, his oceanic eyes now linked to hers stubbornly, inching closer and closer to the female. His voice became hushed suddenly, his breath now fanning her porcelain face, pouring every emotion that he had been feeling for the past five years into his voice. Sakura's heart skipped a beat, a blush creeping onto her as she gulped loudly at the proximity of their position. "All of us… You, me, Kaka-sensei, Sasuke-tem-"

"Don't you dare speak that name in front of me, Uzumaki." She said coldly, her body immediately cooling, with her eyes hardening to stone.

The sentence lingered in the air, as the front door was slammed shut, the light ringing of the bell bellowing through the room, Naruto's mouth agape.

* * *

The silence was shattered by the click of the 24 year olds Louboutin heels, the smooth red lining shining in the forced light of the office. Sakura's leather gloved hands applied pressure against the glass door frame - it's beige wooden showing it's expensive cost - revealing the many familiar faces that she had come to despise. Her body halted, her heart-shaped face positioned like that of a Queen's, showing her clear elegance she had developed. Swiftly, her dilating pupils roamed round the modern room overlooking New York, absorbing the beauty and core detail which it held; the sea foam green eyed beauty abruptly cut her way through the pale room - each detail complementing each other's presence, from the still black and white pictures on the furthest door, to the cream leather chair that swivelled from the black ceiling, to the glass windows which rose from the stripped floor, that laid beside the Italian couch. The sleek office was enviable by all those who worked here, but it was enough to drive her crazy. The dramatic atmosphere depriving her of peace that she so desperately needed. Her hard stare raced around the newly built office, intimidating the stone walls with chills of fright electrifying through them. Something did not seem in place, something was almost... missing, despite the countless of times people had assured her that everything was not even glanced upon before her arrival.

Sighing, she placed herself into the leather chair, her body attempting to relax, as the work began to reveal itself onto her new desk. She glanced at the heaps of paper, exhaling through her nose slowly. _Damn it. _Outstretching her arms infront of her, Sakura began working, her mind too pre-occupied with something else.

_'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.'_

That quote impregnated itself into her, stirring her emotions to something she had not felt in years; nostaligia. She felt the bitter feeling consume her whole, even the cases of stupid finance mistakes, of complex fraud seemed too bland right now, she couldn't concentrate. Sakura sealed her eyes for a brief moment, groaning in frustration at the images of the past in her mind, allowing her large forehead to bash into the desk repeatedly, failingly attempting to force the thoughts out of her vision.

Swiftly, she broke out of her position, slamming down all of her items, stomping out of the building gingerly, her fellow employees staring at her insanely.

* * *

She hated that job. She hated everything about it. There's a limit of how interesting the cases of business could get. It was repeativie - most of it concering suing for not adding the smallest of stupid details. Gurgh. Couldn't they just deal with it, and make her life easier? She should be grateful for that, she supposed, as she'd be unemployed without their brainless blabbering.

Sakura inhaled the sweet scent of hustling and bustling of the Big Apple, loving how distracting the rushing faces of the crowd lead her into. Some of confusion, some of joy, some just that of pure nothingness - she loved those the most. Sakura stood in the midst of all of this, basking in the feeling of unimportance once more before she knew she had to return to work. No-one was judging her here. No-one cared about her enough to do so. She was just isolated in such a compacted enviroment. It was amazing.

"Sakura..." A haunting voice boomed, piercing through the air like lightning, reminding her of why she was here in the first place. It came like the wind. An unintelligent sound came from the female, as she whipped her face in the direction of the voice, but nothing; she furrowed her eyebrows, confusion racking through that chilly voice once again. What in the name of Konohaga- No. She would not think of that forbidden place. It was set at the back of her mind, it had to be. She had moved to America to get away from that life. No, she was fine with this place.

New York gave her a new beginning, a new life, one without the constant battles of life and death, one without the setbacks of her old friends, one without the painful memories that surged her mind when no-one was around. No, she was happy. Happier than she was back then. She was no longer the 'annoying, weak' Sakura. She was now a successful lawyer. One which had worked its way to the top of the chain.

This was exactly the moment the man had hoped for; he walked past her casually, appearing as but a stranger, but as he suspected, his aura still gave a feeling of familiarity to her. He watched her gawk at her; the innocence of her emerald large orbs showing her curiosity. _Curiosity killed the cat. _He turned his head slightly, allowing a glimpse of his pits of endless black to consume her whole. Smirk.

**Mission accomplished. **


	2. Chapter 2 - Confusion

"Ugly, what are you staring at?"

A pale boy asked motionlessly, his black eyes staring at her ludicrously. The girl turned to him, seeing a pair of orbs that were all too familiar to the ones that had captured her fright. Standing froze on the ground was how her colleague, Sai had found her. Although they had known each other for only a short amount of time, they grew close friends, despite his rude nicknames. "Ugly?" Sai repeated, raising an eyebrow at her lack of response, surely she would have hit him by now.

"It-It's nothing." Sakura replied hesitantly, not knowing why she found herself attempting to conceal what she had just saw.

The male stared at the Haruno blankly, before choosing to ignore her lie. "I read in a book once-" Sai began, igniting Sakura's annoyance immediately. Did he seriously think this was the time to talk about a book he's read…?! Again? He tilted his head slightly to the side, wondering why on Earth the female's eyebrow was twitching, her eyes closed tightly. "-that sometimes people don't like to talk about things that scare them. Is that correct, Sakura?"

Immediately, emerald met onyx in a sudden shock of appreciation for the male. Although he was too blunt for his own good, she saw his effort to have as many emotions as the next person. She saw the determination in the way he would STUDY how the mind works hour after hour – it's what made him such an impeccable Lawyer.

He would never attach himself to a case too much, so would lay the evidence out fully without a hint of regret for what was about to happen to the prosecution. That's why he was the perfect guy for criminal law. His mind could never understand how something like murder could seem so 'vile' to someone, or why people couldn't stand to be in a room with a rapist. To him, it didn't matter if the defendant or prosecution had done something terrifying to someone or not, he was doing his job, and that's all that mattered to him. His female colleague, however, couldn't stand even the smallest peck of blood involved in a case, for reasons unknown to him. He blamed it simply on the fact that she was female, and that's what it said in the books.

"Yes, Sai, that's right. Why don't we grab something to eat?" Sakura enquired, linking her arms with her colleague, and steering them into the direction of a restaurant before Sai could even reply. "I think there's a new little restaurant that opened around the corner here…" The female continued, beginning to babble – which Sai tuned out of automatically, knowing that none of it really matter. He stared at the female affectionately, tilting his head to the side, a small smile pulling onto his lips.

Their relationship – if it could be called that – was a complex one. They were there for each other when they needed it, but only physically. She would show up at his apartment door at 2AM, and no words would be spoken; only the tangling of lips was heard, the muted sobs crawling in the distance. But, it is said that actions speak louder than words anyway.

The male didn't know if he minded though. He wasn't an emotional person; he always favoured physical actions over words. They seemed unnecessary when emotions could be shown by simply staring into each other's eyes. He loved the silence that was preserved around him, but, strangely, he knew he adored the random babblings of the pinkette even more so – something that he couldn't get his head around.

Did he have romantic feelings for her? He didn't know. The pale boy was glad that he wouldn't have to dive into that any time soon either, as both of them knew that their only use for each other was sex.

Sai slowly shrug all the thoughts away, his body moving along with Sakura's simultaneously. "Sakura?" The male spoke up finally, his black eyebrows knitting together confusedly.

"Mm?" Was her hum of a reply.

"What's Japan like?" Sai asked innocently, unaware of the feelings that began stirring up inside of Sakura.

She paused. Silence.

"Let's just go get that meal first, alright?" The Haruno replied slowly, cautious of her words. A nod was her only answer, of course. Thank heavens for the simplicity of her colleague.

Sliding into her seat, Sakura grinned at her surroundings. The restaurant was that of great beauty – it's dangling red curtains loomed opposite of a great black and white painting of the infamous Olympians, only the lips of Aphrodite being that of colour – a deep cherry red. There were new wooden floors yet to be clawed by the heels of the scurrying females, the large windows, surrounded by mirror-like frames. It was amazing, breath-taking.

A young waiter appeared by their side before they could even utter anything out.

"What would you like~?" The young male inquired in a hushed Southern accent, handing out the companions two menus.

"I'd like some chicken soup for the starter…" Sakura said, dragging her eyes across the card infront of her. "Urm… And then medium-raw steak with boiled potatoes as a main."

"And dessert, madam?"

Pushing her glossed lips together, in a smack, she raced through the dessert section quickly. "Err… can I just have some fortune cookies, please?"

"Of course. And for the sir?"

"The same." Sai said quickly, attempting to get rid of the intruding male swiftly. He flashed the male one of his famous fake smiles. Turning away from the male, Sai crossed his fingers, placing them under his nose. Oh, how did he not know how alike he looked to Sasuke Uchiha? Sakura released a large gulp, still being able to feel Sasuke's hands wrapped tightly on her neck, but she was a foolish woman. She still smelt the wondrous smell of the masculine musk of Sasuke, the texture of his hands, the feel of his hardened Sharingan eyes onto hers. She breathed out slowly, humming to herself to keep herself distracted, whilst her emerald orbs glanced everywhere but at Sai – the replacement Sasuke.

"Sakura!" Sai repeated the umpteenth time, his eyebrows furrowed at the irresponsive female infront of him. Shaking her long blossoms of strands, she smiled apologetically to Sai.

"I'm so sorry, what were you saying~?"

"I was asking you about Japan." The pale man said motionlessly, unclasping his hands, and placing them at his sides as the waiter returned, placing the soup they had ordered infront of them.

"Would you like wine with that?"

She glanced up to the waiter thankfully for the interruption he provided. "Yes, please." The Haruno needed alcohol in her system for this conversation – she knew this was going to get too deep for her own liking.

Whilst the waiter was busy pouring in the expensive substance, Sakura's mind battled, thinking of some way to begin the description of her home country, her past, and her history.

Sai's ogle did not falter in the least, not even when the waiter had left. He was getting an answer. They knew each other for countless of years now, and yet he didn't know anything about her. A feeling was surging inside of him, a feeling that was not quite anger, but not pleasant – what was it called again? – Aah, it was frustration. That's right; he was beginning to become frustrated with her.

"Japan is the most beautiful country there is…" The Haruno began bitterly, attempting to not have to mention all of the happenings that occurred there. "It's extremely traditional, with several of-"

"I don't want a history of Japan, Sakura. I want to know you. Is that so difficult, and weird…? To want to know a friend?"

She forced her head downcast, her sight become mistier by the second. "O-okay." Sakura raised herself shakily, her whole body trembling with the memories flooding through her mind. "I was born in a small village – the Village Hidden in the Leafs – Konohagakure." Sai watched her in fascination; she was actually going through with it. He could obviously tell how she was upset about being forced to tell him all of these things, but he needed it, and so did she. He was tired of the distance.

"I had a small family, no siblings, just my parents and I." The Haruno smiled fondly at the memories of her home, of her mother's sweet smile, and her father's approving stare. "My ambition there was to become a great ninja… You see, Japan was filled with five great villages – the land of fire, the land of wind, the land of water, the land of lightning, and the land of earth. All of these have one leader each – named the Kage. Whilst I was there, Konoha's Kage was my personal tutor – Tsunade Senju. You see…" Sakura continued, finding it easier to speak of her past than she had just a few seconds ago. It was not nearly as bad as she anticipated, it was almost relaxing, sharing with others. "I was a medical ninja, having being promoted to Chunin at the age of 16. Tsunade Senju was the greatest medical ninja there ever was, and she taught me all I know. Because of her, I am what I am today."

"A Chunin...?" Sai asked quietly, tilting his head slightly at the odd word.

"Oh right! So sorry! In being a ninja, there are different ranks. First you have to go to the Ninja Academy to become a Genin - which is the lowest rank, after that is Chunin, and then Jounin, and then ANBU - but many choose to remain Jounin. A Jounin is in charge of a 3-man team of Genins. Each rank has a range of missions. A Genin has D/C rank missions, Chunin's have C/B rank missions, and Jounins have B/A/S missions. ANBU have generally A/S missions."

"Aah. So, what was your team like...?"

"My team? ...It consisted of Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha, and our leader was Kakashi Hatake." She withdrew her arm towards the glass of wine quickly. "Naruto was my best friend, I trusted him with everything - although not at first. You see, Naruto was inlove with me when we were still in the Academy, whilst I found him a nuisance... But he's the most amazing guy there is." Another sip. "He's caring, compassionate, but also a loud mouth knuckle-head." She chuckled fondly, leaning back against the chair. "Sasuke, on the other hand, was the guy I had a crush on."

_Crush, yeah, if that's what you wanna call it, Sakura~ _

Sakura spluttered loudly, placing her hand over her mouth to stop it. Her inner was back...?! When on Earth did that happen?!

_I've always been here, forehead, you just choose to ignore me constantly. Bitch! I am the great Haruno Sakura, how dare you! SHANNARO! _

A violent shake over came her body, her eyes as wide as saucers. They were so distant that you couldn't imagine them ever concentrating on something. The volcano that erupted within her poured out, her body collapsing to the floor with a large boom across the restaurant Everything was a blur, nothing was clear at all. The last thing Haruno Sakura remembered was the distant shout of Sai's voice.


End file.
